A Pop-up New Year's Eve

 

Sailing over the Grand Canyon headed to Phoenix

The cousins and I have waited for what seemed like forever to meet up in Phoenix to celebrate our Aunt Arna's 88th birthday.  How can our Aunt be 88, when ♫Younger than Springtime is she♪♥..? The event called for a Pop-up Carter Family Reunion, held the weekend of New Year's eve. I flew in New Year's eve and my Cuzzies Rhonda and Ideaa picked me up at the airport .

My cousins love to shop & had a few things they needed anyway, so we hit a mall picking up some decorations, then we made it to the Jone's house, the family's gathering spot. there we were greeted by my other 'Cuzzies' who flew in from as far away as Michigan, New York, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. Our family is spread around the country, no wonder we are always so eager for get-togethers. 

Pig's feet at the top of my plate

For sometime now, Aunt Arna told us she wanted to do something special for everyone to celebrate the new year and our pop-up reunion. She accomplished that, making a wonderful potful of pickled pig's feet. Pigs Feet is a  speciality my Grandmother Adele used to make:true Bajan soul food. I wouldn't eat it when I was a kid, but you better believe my cousins and I dug into the treat tonight: as delicious and all the better to us because it was made by our precious Aunt Arna.

Grandmother Adele

Cousin Dovin & his wife Rosa were marvelous hosts. Dovin serving refreshments, both 'virgin' (sans alcohol) and 'fully loaded'. Rosa fed us all with her tasty and authentic, homemade Mexican soup. I don't recall the name of it - and I was too busy wolfing it down to remember to photograph any of it - but I respectfully named it 'Mexican Pho Soup' because it was served with lots of sides, veggies,  onions, peppers and loads of lime juice and such, in the manner of Vietnamese pho soup. 

The chit chat and extensive viewing of family photos went on and on until we readied ourselves to cheer in the New Year.

At midnight and the start of the year 2022, the hugs, cheers and joy were even more evident than the yawns, from those who like me don't often stay up past midnight, i.e., me, lol!

Family friends for the new year!

After ringing in the new year, those of us staying at nearby local hotels headed out. I was rooming with my Cousin Jonni Anne and our Cousin Rhonda is across the hall from us. We need to rest up for the remainder of our Pop-up Carter Family Reunion. HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!

First Snow of the Season

 

A view of the neighborhood, Canada in the distance across the Salish Sea

This week there was snowfall on Christmas day. What a treat! Loads of photos were taken and a few of them are showcased here. The one up top was taken from the 2nd story of my neighbor Nita's home. It sits up on a slight rise and from there you can see the Dungeness Spit which appears as a white stripe on the water in the photo above. Also in the photo above you can see Canada, also sprinkled with the cold white stuff. 

The 'notorious lilac house' 

The lilac house(s) in the center above looks ensy but is a huge 2 story house and was the talk of the neighborhood. I think it angered pre-existing neighbors either because it blocked views or just because it is HUMONGOUS. I think it is pretty, like a gigantic lavender thumb. 

My view of the Olympic Mountains over the top of the neighbor's roof.

View from my upstairs window

Clouds trying to outshine the snow covered grounds

This bottom photo was taken as I drove, headed for town. Not a stellar photo, but wow... so amazed that I live, once again, someplace where it snows. Wonders will never cease? 

Grand Old Barns

The big barn (#1) originally stored hay for local dairies

2 greedy piggies by the 2nd barn

There is scant reason why after 2 years, I have barely peeked through the doorways of the two massive barns at Flown Piggies Farm. But friends can grant courage. I have new friends, and today Sue called, asking if she and her husband Nick could come by. The main goal of their visit being to pick up windfall apples. They have many tame deer at their Port Townsend home, and they feed apples to their greedy piggies deer. The semi-pet deer can gobble their way through a full bag of store-bought apples in one go, so free windfall apples is as much a windfall for the humans as for the deer. 

Most of the apples taken were sourced from the massive apple tree in the cottage back yard. It is lush with flowers, veggies and other raised bed and pot type planters all of which is the work of Barbara. 

Barb's incredible lush garden

Sunflowers, hollyhocks, nasturtiums and what-not grow abundant

When several bags of apples were collected and stowed away in their truck, Sue asked if she could explore the barns. 

Alleyway between Big Barn (left) and 2nd Barn (right)

The first thing everyone suggests on seeing the barns is selling the wood. Reclaimed old barn wood goes for good prices. That was my original plan, but the barns are kind of nice to look at, but more important, if the big barn was taken down, a lot of UGLY cement and what-not would be left to get rid of. I'm guessing the profit from selling the wood would go toward getting the barn's footprint into decent shape. I don't think it is worth the hassle. Anyway, I keep hoping some barn owls will move into the big barn rafters, making it the world's largest nesting box.

Looking up in the Big Barn

Big Barn has old electrical wire hanging everywhere (no power though, thank heavens), a couple of old stalls that last were used as chicken coops, and spots I think were once part of a dairy office. There is a lot of cement areas which would just be hazardous if the barn were to disappear. 

Nick and Sue

Now it was time for 2nd Barn to get some attention.

2nd barn, in better shape than Big Barn. Note Great Blue Heron on ground to the left

Second Barn is where we have stored cardboard that we intend to use to line planting beds in future. I told Sue the area (below) the western side of the barn (left) is a large stall. Sadly, the metal roofing over the stall is no more. However it is nice to know if labor ever comes available again in my lifetime (don't ask) if a new metal roof goes up there, the stall would be a good home for livestock (Mini-donkeys? Alpacas? A riding horsie for moi?). 

Touring ruins is Sue's jam, so she enjoyed rummaging around the buildings

Lots of deer hoof prints in the 2nd barn floor

There are many deer hoof prints inside the 2nd barn. Suspect lots of deer bed down in it, just as they bed down in the tall grass around the barns. 

Second barn with a little work, i.e., replacement roofing, could return it to working order - for whomever buys this place after me anyway!

Sue enjoyed touring the old buildings and said it reminded her of old homesteads she had explored when living in California. Before she & Nick left, I encouraged them to pick apples and pears for their own consumption. This year, the fruit ripened more than a month earlier than last year - quite the shock, but maybe with the warmer than normal summer ought to have tipped us off on quicker ripening of the fruit. One of the pear trees already has fruit getting beyond ripe, but the other two aren't quite ripe as yet (whew!). Ripeness of Flown Piggies Farm's many apple trees is all over the place, from over-ripe to hard-as-rocks. I think it is time to buy a dehydrator and get some fruit leather going, don't you think?